


Acceptable Losses

by Fluffysminion



Category: Warhammer 40.000
Genre: Port Caius
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:22:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24699019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluffysminion/pseuds/Fluffysminion
Summary: A selection of extracts from letters sent by a trader on the station
Comments: 3
Kudos: 1





	Acceptable Losses

_…The security of warehouse 12 was compromised last night – though by what I have no idea. The early morning shift reported an unusual animal smell, probably rats again but I went along myself in case it was some planet beast that arrived with the shipment. It had faded by the time I got there of course, no sign of the creature. But that’s not the strange part. Some of the cleaning supplies were missing, but such a small quantity I doubt we would have noticed had the thief not left a note with a long apology and a list of everything they’d taken. How someone smart enough to get in and out without triggering any alarms or alerting any of the servitors would be stupid enough to leave a handwritten confession at the crime scene is beyond me. It’s either one of those lot or a strange attempt to distract from whatever the thief was actually after. Going to have to take inventory again just to be sure – the delay’s going to cost me more than the bloody soap…_

_… the thief was back last night, even left some money this time. More than the goods were worth too, but I still got an apology for “being unable to settle the outstanding debt”. Whoever’s behind this has a very confused understanding of how society works, I tell you…_

_… Caught the first glimpse of our apologetic thief; as I suspected he’s a mutant, real creepy one too. I was on site late and I caught a whiff of that smell and I ran over just in time to see it leap into the rafters from amongst the crates of imperial military rations we’ve been unable to shift. Now I know you may be thinking that nothing would want those, but you didn’t see the poor bastard. Looked like he hadn’t eaten anything in weeks, just skin and bones, there was barely anything to him. Quite upsetting to look at, to be honest. Still knowing he’s been climbing in from above explains why everything we’ve tried previously hasn’t worked…_

_…I know you’ve repeatedly told me it’s a bad idea but I left some food out last night, and this morning there was a letter on my desk thanking me. He claimed he’d not taken anything else and given that the notes have been honest so far I’m inclined to believe that. This one was even signed, though it’s pretty indecipherable so I’m still none the wiser about what his name is…_

_… and as for your last comments, of course I’ve noticed the similarity between “my pet mutant” and the stories of Spring-heeled Jack going around, I’m not an idiot. But one of those is a boogyman and monster in stories told at late nights down the pub, and the other is someone that’s strange-looking but has always been polite despite being hungry and desperate. I don’t know if he’s hiding because of the stories or if he inspired them in some way, but I’m certain if he was going to snatch me from my bed in the night he would have done so already. Well I guess we’ll soon find out – I’m going to wait out tonight, see if I can talk face to face. So if my empty clothes turn up outside yours tomorrow you can go ahead and tell the world you told me so._


End file.
